Revolutionary Arrives in Louisville

4/12/2013

5:53 pm EDT

Revolutionary, winner of the Grade II Louisiana Derby, arrived at Churchill Downs from WinStar Farm on Friday and took up residence in barn 34, stall 9.

"He shipped well without any problems and he looks great," said assistant trainer Whit Beckman, who saddled Revolutionary for the Louisiana Derby for Todd Pletcher. "We'll look at him tomorrow and watch him gallop before planning a work.

"I thought the race was ultra impressive. He broke flat-footed, but then closed from the rear on a track no one was closing on all day. I actually was watching (Palace Malice), but when I saw he got stopped, I switched over to Revolutionary and saw he was making a serious move."

Revolutionary soon will be joined in the Pletcher barn by Grade I Wood Memorial winner Verrazano, who is scheduled to arrive from New York about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Pletcher will be at Keeneland on Saturday to saddle Charming Kitten and Palace Malice in the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass and expects to remain in Kentucky through the first Saturday in May.

Normandy Invasion, runner-up in the Wood, will be on the flight from New York with Verrazano and will be stabled in Barn 42 for trainer Chad Brown.

Meanwhile, now that Javier Castellano is off Revolutionary and on Normandy Invasion for the Derby, WinStar is holding an informal poll to name Revolutionary's new jockey.

“Well, obviously we need a new rider for Revolutionary. We thought we'd have a little fun and ask the fans who they wanted to see get the mount,” said WinStar Farm President & CEO Elliott Walden.

WinStar StableMates members can vote for favorites Rafael Bejarano, Calvin Borel, Julien Leparoux, Rosie Napravnik, and Mike Smith by visiting WinStarStablemates.com. Fans who are not yet StableMates members can sign up for a free account and vote.